A Bureau of Indian Affairs audit in 2004 found significant problems with the Red Lake Nation's police department, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The BIA conducted the audit at the request of new chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. Auditors said they were unable to locate 85 of 250 investigative police files, that evidence, including drug contraband, was being handled improperly and that the department's investigators were unsupervised, insufficiently trained and ineffective.

"There is an obvious lack of effective leadership and management in police operations and investigations," the BIA's report concluded.

The audit was apparently a sign of more problems to come. The tribe's police director was fired for allegedly going after police corruption. The former investigator said he was fired for accusing Jourdain of hindering drug investigations. Another investigator, who also quit the force, said drug suspects were being tipped off by tribal employees.

The tribe recently pulled out of a federal investigative task force last year. Outgoing U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said the task force helped stem the flow of drugs to the reservation.

Get the Story:
Turmoil thwarts drug probes at Red Lake (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 2/26)
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Relevant Links:
Red Lake Net News - http://www.rlnn.com
Red Lake Nation - http://www.redlakenation.org
Red Lake High School - http://www.paulbunyan.net/rlschools/hs.htm

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